Tower of London

Alex's Reflections

The Tower of London was one of the most interesting places I’ve visited while here. The amount of history behind it is fascinating, and I feel a personal attachment, as my family name is tied to William the Conqueror. The Pomeroy castle in South Devon rests on land given to the family by William, for their assistance in his invasion.

The most obvious piece of history surrounding the castle is the sheer amount of cruelty and bloodshed that has occurred within its walls. The best way to find out about most of this is to go on a tour led by a Yeoman Warder, or a Beefeater, as they are called. Upon entering, the tours are free, and filled with bloody jokes and sarcastic wit. One of the tour guides mentioned that twenty-one people were buried under St. Peter’s Chapel there, all tried of treason at some point. All graves are unmarked, except the queens buried there, such as Anne Boleyn, Lady Jane Grey, and Catherine Howard.

At the same time, the crown jewels are definitely worth a visit. I posted a picture of the building they're in below. One of the jewels, embedded in a scepter, is 106 grams, and roughly the size of a human fist. It is an absolutely gigantic stone, and one of the biggest diamonds possessed by humans. That said, if you don’t go early, the queue to see them can be longer than the one to get into the Tower. All the crowns and jewels almost seem like frivolous wealth to me, but I find most interesting the level of craftsmanship that went into them. Many of the objects were made before industry became big and machinery could be used. Many of the stones were hand-cut and crafted. To make something of that scale is fantastic to me.

Lastly, the White Tower is also a must see portion of the trip. The White Tower is the original tower of London. It currently houses armor and weapons from English nobles from the past millennium. From the outside and the inside, it was clearly a defensive structure first though. The walls are several feet thick with stone. When I went to the Tower, there were women pretending to fight each other, as one declared the other of treason against the throne. It was entertaining.

The Tower of London is one of England’s most popular tourist sites, and for good reason. The history is interesting, and the architecture and artifacts are definitely worth a view.

Robert's Reflections

We arrived there early in order to beat the crowd and it was a good thing that we did. We pretty much walked straight in to view the Crown Jewels and when we exited the line was packed. While walking around some of us saw the Tower Beasts exhibit. We could not take a direct path there but I am glad because we saw a lot of interesting displays.

The path took us through three of the wall towers along the perimeter of the whole Tower of London. The first tower dealt with different royal items and we learned that in one crown there were thousands of jewels. It seemed crazy to me that someone would put that much wealth into a decoration but I can understand its importance with the royals.

The next tower dealt with protection of the stronghold. We read about the different instances where peasants were able to penetrate the walls and took over parts of the tower.

Finally, we came to the Beasts exhibit. The exhibit spoke of all of the different animals that were brought to the tower from faraway lands. They had elephants, lions, tigers, bears, baboons, emus, different snakes, and more. Some of the stories were gruesome and others funny, they spoke of holding the lions until the king decided he wanted to kill some and they would slaughter them. The town’s people thought that the emus ate iron so they would throw nails and other items at them. The emus actually ate it and some of them died.

The Tower of London was cool to see but we were not able to see it all so I would set aside a good bit of time so you can get a look at everything.

Ashleigh's Reflections

Surrounding the Crown jewels were also several gold banquet dishes including chocolate fountains, punch bowls, and salt castles. 

After the Crown Jewels we went on an exhibit on torture, where replicas of Scavenger’s Daughter and the Rack were displayed. Exiting the torture exhibit, there was a polar bear made out of chicken wire; this represented the polar bear that was originally kept there by King Henry III, which he received from the King of Norway in 1252. 

We then went to see the ravens, some of which are kept in cages. The ravens are significant to the Tower, because legend holds that if the Tower’s ravens are lost or fly away, the Crown will fall and Britain with it. 

The bloody tower was next, which at one point held the namesake of our hometown, Sir Walter Raleigh. We learned about his imprisonment and then walked up a bunch of narrow stairs to walk on Raleigh’s walk. 

Following, the bloody tower we took a break outside of Beauchamp tower where a monument to all those who lost their heads there resides. Beauchamp tower used to be used to imprison important people ranging from Princess Elizabeth to Hitler’s right hand man. The upper room that housed the prisoners is filled with carved graffito, some of which are just names, others paragraphs or coats of arms. 

Lastly, we went to the White Tower which houses several exhibits, including the world’s oldest exhibit. I loved visiting the Tower and would recommend it; however, there are a lot of narrow staircases and lines. I learned a lot about the history of the Tower and England.

Some of the students got a special tour and got to see the Changing of the Keys.  

Brittany's Reflections

My dad works over in Dubai with the UAE army and has many Brits as coworkers. With a couple connections, he actually arranged a night tour to view the Tower of London. Unfortunately, he didn't get contact with my email in enough time, thus our group had already paid to see the crown jewels earlier that week. Free of cost and nothing planned that evening, a group of the study abroad ENG331 class went to the special IPA (International Police Association) night that included a special tour and a unique chance to witness the ceremony of the keys. I had no idea what to expect when we came, but I ended up really enjoying the evening. Not only was I surrounded by people who I desperately wanted to work with in the future (CIA, FBI, MI6, etc.) but we were taken to special areas in the Tower of London that the general public would never see. We went into the chapel in the back and learned that every traitor beheaded at the Tower of London was buried underneath in some fashion across the years.

We also got to witness the ceremony of the keys. It is the oldest ceremony in the world and it is the process of locking up the Tower of London every single night. Our guide said they almost missed on night during a bombing in WWII, but the Brits stood up after being bombed, brushed their coats and carried on. Just like the British way I guess! But after watching this ceremony and how seriously they took it, it made me think how dedicated soldiers are. Growing up in a military family, I've learned to always thank and appreciate our soldiers and I am so glad to know that they are just as honored across the oceans as they are in our homeland and hearts.

Aniket's Reflections:

Luckily, we were able to get a free "policeman" tour as Brittany had special connections with the tour guide. The tour started around 7:15 with the tour guide giving us a brief history of the tower. 

As we progressed, we were able to stop and look and important parts of the tower such as traitor's gate and the chapel. Traitor's gate is the gate where they used to throw all the traitors whose only aim was to damage the English army. The chapel was a simple church where many went to pray. 

The Tower of London really related back to my interests because I've always had a passion for history. In fact, I was thinking about obtaining a minor in some form of it at one point. But the history of one of the most famous monuments of London was nothing but intriguing to me. I loved learning about all the different, historical stories that were accommodated with the castle. The coolest part was viewing the changing of the keys because it was modeled so effectively that I thought I had gone back in time.

Katie's Reflections:

This was a very unique and special experience, as it is considered to be one of the oldest and longest ceremonies still practiced in the United Kingdom.  The ceremony is held every night, and has been happening for over 700 years, according to our tour guide. 

There was only one night that the ceremony happened just a few minutes later than usual. This particular night was during World War II. However, the yeomen carried on with the ceremony a few minutes past normal time. 

The Ceremony of the Keys happens just a few minutes before 10:00 PM and is performed by the Yeomen. One man approaches with the keys, while another says “Halt, who comes there?” In return, the man with the keys says that it is Queen Elizabeth’s keys. Then the other man allows the keys to enter into a different area and proclaims that “All is well.” There is a bugle ceremony in remembrance of those who have fallen in the name of England and the keys are then carried to the House of the Queen, where they are kept safe. 

This was a very special event because it showcases a longstanding tradition in England. One of the aspects of the United Kingdom that I have noticed above others is their strong respect towards their history, heritage, and tradition. Because of the new nature of the United States, when compared to England, it has been very interesting to notice these old traditions that have been held for many years.